Epic Bra Battles - Day One!

Janet Reger Floral Balconette vs Elle MacPherson Cupcake

Round 1: Looks

When I first saw the Cupcake, I didn't think much would be able to top it on looks. The baby blue colour is gorgeous, and the lace detailing is equally as lovely. The adorable little blue bows that adorn this bra are so cute, as is the white lace on the straps. It's little details like this that really make a bra for me - it shows effort has gone into making it, and serious thought has gone into the design. 

The Reger balconette, however, outstripped this by miles. The floral printed material is chiffon, and is pleated around the cups. Lace is overlayed on top, around the top of the cup, and an adorable white bow nestles in between the cups. 

While the straps aren't lace (as they are with the Cupcake) this makes them much more comfortable. There is also lace along the band, which is a nice feature. 

So a clear winner for round one; Janet Reger Floral Balconette!

Round Two: Quality

From experience, Elle MacPherson always make high quality lingerie, and the Cupcake is no exception. The patterning on the lace is gorgeous, and it feels so well made. Even though half the cup is delicate lace, it feels substantial enough to last wear after wear.
The straps seem thick enough to hold most women up without discomfort, and all the detailing (such as the bows) are put on beautifully. They're also built into the bra - the cups 'flow' up straight into the strap, which I always find to be a good feature in a bra (they always feel so much sturdier like that). The underwires were firmly in place, and they didn't bulge out of the side of the cup as they do in so many other bras.
The band of the bra isn't especially elastic - it doesn't have too much give in it, and this could be a problem (given, its one of the only problems I can find with the craftmanship of this bra!)

Having never tried a Janet Reger bra before, I didn't know what to expect in terms of quality, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.
The stitching on the chiffon on the cup was really strong, and the lace details and bow seemed equally as strong as that on the Cupcake. The underwires too were firmly in place, and (as with the Cupcake) they didn't poke out of the fabric at the ends.
I can only see one problem with this bra, and that is with the straps. While they are substantial enough to hold up larger breasts without difficulty, I don't always like the way that they're attached to the cup itself. The straps are sewn onto the cup (as opposed to being built up from the cup as they are with the Cupcake). This does make me feel a little more dubious about their strength, but to be honest, I can't see it breaking, even for those wearing it in the 38DD it goes up to. 

So for round two, the winner is the Cupcake.
That means it's a draw so far, and round three is the decider!

Round Three: Comfort

The first thing I noticed when wearing the Cupcake, was the lace. While it is simply gorgeous, it was a little irritating, especially on the straps and band. The lace was itchy, and gave me little red patches on my skin #sadface :(

Despite this, the bra fit well, and was comfortable in the cups. The material lining them was soft, and there weren't any seams on the inside of the cup (which I know can be irritating to some people). The underwires didn't poke out of their lining as happens with some bra's, which is a definite sign of quality too.
Another thing I've noticed with some bra's, is how close the cups are together. With some, they can be quite close together (which is a problem for me personally) and your boobs are squished together. This is certainly not the case with this bra; it's really comfortable, and holds your girls in a very natural position. 

Excuse the slight blurryness...I have terribly shaky hands!

The floral balconette was super comfy. The cups are a really good shape, with no seams inside them to irritate. They also cover a fair amount of boob, so there's no spillage from the cup, and you feel particularly secure.
As with the Cupcake, the underwires didn't dig in at all; the lining kept them really secure.
The lace wasn't directly on your skin, so there was no discomfort from that at all, and the straps are made from plain material which is relatively thick, so they were really comfortable on your shoulders.
Again, the cups were in really natural positions, so your boobs aren't getting out in any positions they wouldn't normally be in!

Finally, the winner of round three is the Janet Reger Floral Balconette! 

And I can conclude from this, the first of many Epic Bra Battles that the overall winner is the high street bra, the Janet Reger Floral Balconette.
So. It appears that in this case, a higher price tag doesn't necessarily mean a better bra.
And for those interested, the Janet Reger Floral Balconette cost a mere £20 in comparison to the Cupcake's £41 price tag!

Next time, Elle MacPherson vs La Senza! Stay tuned ;)

Haych xxx

A look into this seasons lingerie trends :)

As you may know, I ran a questionnaire for a couple of weeks to have a look at the lingerie consumer market this season.
A surprising number of people helped me out; I wasn't expecting such a great response!

So, the first thing is a quick breakdown of my audience. This is actually a reflection on the blog too, so I thought it was kinda interesting...
Anyway, a whole 91% of the people who answered my questionnaire were aged between 20 and 29 years, and the rest were in the 10 to 19 years category!

...I'm a little sad...I like using excel for everything! ;)

I also found that only 54% of the people asked had been professionally fitted into a bra. This really surprised me, because I thought that most people would have been. Those that had, had gone (most commonly) to Marks and Spencers, with the next most popular being Debenhams. M&S did have mixed reviews however - which is exactly what I have heard from people I know who have been fitted there. The fitting is described by some as "rushed" with "no advice or recommendations given", whereas others swear by M&S fitters who "always seem to know what they're doing, and make finding the right bra easier".
Having never been fitted in M&S (only Debenhams) this discrepancy has given me the incentive to go and try out a few stores, to see where is actually the best place to go for a fitting. Cue, the store fitting challenge!

The Freya Deco, up to 38G

The After Eden Multiway, up to 38D

The most popular styles of bra amongst consumers at the moment seem to be multiways and strapless, t-shirt and push-up underwired bra's. With the arrival of summer (or what we foolishly call 'summer' here in the UK) the multiway and strapless bra's are out in full force, with the arrival of strapless and strappy dresses to our wardrobes!
Of course the best multiway bra's don't focus primarily on how many ways they can be worn, but on the quality of the fit to begin with.
Whenever I try a multiway, I always begin by removing the straps and wearing it as a strapless bra. If it doesn't hold you up well enough without the straps, chances are it won't perform brilliantly, for example, as a halterneck.
As multiways offer less support than a classic bra, if it's not holding you up without the straps, chances are it won't be a whole lot better with them either.
It's generally easier to get t-shirt and push-up bra's to fit, as they're the kind of bra most people are used to, even from buying your first bra - I know mine was a plain black, underwired t-shirt bra, so I'm well used to them!

To provide a little more detail, I looked into what designs consumers prefer to see this season on their lingerie.
Since floral prints are very fashionable this season, I expected to see a lot of responses related to floral patterns on our underwear. I was quite surprised to see, however, that the reaction to floral printed undies wasn't quite as positive as I had imagined.
A lot of responses suggested a certain 'tiredness' for floral underwear.
Lace being the timeless classic that it is, was very popular, as were pastel colours and 'frills' (I can't see these EVER going out of fashion!).
Tying together the most popular styles of bra with design, plain block colours are also quite popular, and this is understandable. T-shirt bra's are popular all year round, as are the classic block colours that go hand-in-hand with them!

The fabric of a bra is important too, with many consumers preferring cotton and silky underwear, as opposed to man-made mixes of fabrics.

Of course, these can be quite costly materials, and since 72% of people would be willing to spend only between £0 and £20 on a new bra, it seems we can't always have what we want!

Haych xx

Silk image from aveniabridal.com